Move out, we can’t move up

EVERY FEW YEARS, a story appears about Charedim from Hackney looking to set up a new community in a cheaper, less crowded area. This April they were moving to Canvey Island in Essex. Last year Hemel Hempstead, and before that, Milton Keynes.

So far, none of the plans has come to fruition. But the strictly Orthodox are right to try actively to plan the expansion of their community, and mainstream Jews should follow their example. Here in London, non-Charedim are also afflicted by a housing crisis. Our community is by-and-large situated in some of the most expensive neighbourhoods.

If you want to be guaranteed a minyan each morning, to live within walking distance of a wide circle of Jewish friends and to get your kids into a local Jewish school, you need to be among the UK’s top earners.

A decade ago, Borehamwood was considered the “affordable” option for young, affiliated couples. Nowadays, it is beyond the reach of many and families are looking further out in Hertfordshire, in places such as Watford and Welwyn Garden City. Meanwhile, there is constant pressure on school places, with many children having to travel for hours each day just to attend a Jewish school — and a handful of others locked out of the system. The community’s response has been haphazard. In London, there has always been movement to cheaper suburbs, but the Jewish facilities and infrastructure arrive only years later — sometimes when the ‘‘new’’ population is on the move elsewhere. The announcement that residents of Mill Hill East are launching a new community is welcome, but the neighbourhood is financially out of the reach of most Jews. When it comes to education, the government’s Free School policy has allowed groups of parents to take matters into their own hands, pushing the creation of new schools they believe are right for their children.

The parents would never have had to resort to this had the community leadership more proactively managed the provision of school places.

In the past, the JLC has led admirable attempts to forecast educational needs. And yet, each year, parents witness a wild scrambling to find places for children who were denied a place at a Jewish secondary school, as if the shortage comes as a surprise. It’s taken the shock proposal for a new school, Kedem High, to kickstart a serious search for a permanent solution.

It would be ideal, though, if the community leadership could use this opportunity to look at our infrastructure needs on every front — from education and housing to culture and charities — and engage in some badly needed, comprehensive community planning. What facilities does the community need? And where should they be situated, so they are in the right place in 10 years’ time? If the community is heading further into Hertfordshire, what can we do now to make this a success?

Sixteen years ago, Toronto’s Jews undertook just such a campaign, raising $400 million to upgrade the community’s infrastructure. This included building a brand new community campus, with shops, a high school, and residence for adults with special needs, designed to boost an area north of the city that was not yet even developed. Although not all elements worked completely, this was a bold and visionary initiative, from which we should learn.

Limmud, JW3, the boom in Jewish education — in the past 20 years, Jewish life in Britain has undergone a remarkable renaissance. It will be easier to continue this momentum for another 20 years and beyond, with better long-term planning.

We need to have better planning for communities to evolve